Kamiya Kaoru
Kamiya Kaoru is the young proprietor and acting instructor of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū kenjutsu dojo in Tokyo and the female lead of the Rurouni Kenshin series. After meeting and being rescued by the rurouni Himura Kenshin, Kaoru allows him to stay in her dojo and effectively puts an end to his ten years of wandering with her kindness. Though their relationship initially begins as one of mutual gratitude and respect, Kaoru essentially serves as Kenshin's primary motivating factor and the anchor to his shattered self-worth, slowly becoming a love interest. Appearance Kaoru has a long blue-ish, purple hair and her eyes are blue. She is 155 cm tall (5' 2") and has a weight of 41 kg (90.38 lbs). She also has a pale white skin. She always ties her hair with a ribbon but there are times that she doesn't tie it. She also has a fondness for wearing kimonos, of a variety of patterns and colors, however, when training in the dojo, she wears a standard hakama. Watsuki said that he used "no specific model" and "no specific motif" when designing Kaoru. He said that if he had to name one model, he would point to Chiba Sanako of Ryōma no Koibito. He wished to include the "commanding" quality from Sasaki Mifuyu (佐々木 三冬) of Shōtarō Ikenami's Kenkaku Shōbai (JA). According to Watsuki, Kaoru became a "plain, regular girl" despite the "commanding" quality. By the compilation of Volume 1 in Japan he believed that the character model worked and stated that many female readers of Rurouni Kenshin identified with Kaoru. He had not decided at the time on whether Kaoru should be Kenshin's love interest. Watsuki wished that he could design Kaoru "more cutely" and to be "more fashionable" but decided to tone down those qualities as he felt that she needed to express "down-to-earth" and financially "poor" characteristics as well. Watsuki described her ponytaill hairstyle as "de rigueur" for a girl who practices kendo. Watsuki says that he enjoys drawing Kaoru and that filling in her hair is "sometimes a pain." At the end of Rurouni Kenshin Kaoru gets a new hairstyle. Watsuki felt that Kaoru would not look like herself without her ponytail, but that her original hair style did not appear like what a mother would wear, so he created a variation for the ending. When some female readers told Watsuki that they could not decide whether Kaoru exhibited strength or weakness as a fighter, Watsuki responded by saying that Kaoru is "quite independent for her age" and could easily "hold her own" against many dojo masters in town, making her a national-level champion at least, although even this level appeared weak compared to Kenshin and Sagara Sanosuke. Personality Kaoru is a normal girl who is selfless, independent, compassionate, possesive, courageous, strong-willed, a great-fight and caring of others almost to a fault. She sometimes has this violent personality because of her occasional mood swings. She often fights with Yahiko and Sanosuke because of her bad cooking. Kaoru is too shy to open up her true feelings to Kenshin (it goes both ways though). She was little bit demanding jealous of Megumi because she's afraid that Megumi will steal Kenshin's heart antithesis of Tomoe's character at times.Kaoru is the instructor of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū fighting school. She inherited the fighting style and a small dojo from her late father, Kamiya Koshijirō, who developed the style before he was drafted into and killed during the Seinan War. At the beginning of the story, she runs the school by herself but has no students; she seems likely to lose the dojo until Kenshin appears and helps her. She is independent, possessive, compassionate, courageous, feisty, strong-willed, and a great fighter—with occasional mood swings. Kaoru is also known for her bad cooking (disliked by her friends and family) and her ability to see the good in others. Though she is short-tempered and possessive, Kaoru is very selfless She falls in love with Himura Kenshin from the beginning of the series, and continues to love him even after learning of his past crimes. One of Kaoru's biggest fears is that Kenshin might someday return to wandering,leaving her to be alone again. She gets jealous whenever another girl is also interested in Kenshin, such as Takani Megumi with whom she often argues but ultimately admires by the end of the manga. In the story, Kaoru is often compared to a tanuki (raccoon dog).Although she often squabbles with her student Myōjin Yahiko, they care about each other and Kaoru sees him as the successor of the dojo. She is considered naïve to be so trusting, but she has the maturity to handle the consequences. Kaoru's beliefs are held strongly and proudly, almost stubbornly, particularly her father's ideal of katsujin-ken ("swords that give life"): swordsmanship should be used not to kill, but to protect. This belief is a slap in the face to many swordsmen, who advocate that a sword is only for "mastery and death". Himura Kenshin, however, feels that her beliefs should become reality. Relationships * Kenshin * Yahiko * Megumi Abilities Master at Kamiya Kasshin Ryū: Kaoru most likely learned Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu from her father. Kamiya Kasshin Ryū's purpose was to protect the people around you. Kenshin once told Yahiko,"Kamiya Kasshin Ryū is based on protecting people. If you lose, the person whom you are protecting loses as well. It doesn't except defeat. You should remember this." Master Hand to Hand: It is shows with humor and seriousness that she has above average strength for women and is seen tossing Kenshin and even knocking Sanosuke down History Kamiya Kaoru is a 17-year-old dojo instructor that is shown in the first episode/chapter of the anime/manga. She is also the first main character that Kenshin will meet. She is the owner of the Kamiya Dojo after her father died during the war and the teacher of Yahiko who is currently teaching him the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū style. After Kenshin defended Kaoru from the fake Battosai, she invites him to live at the dojo, She then had developed feelings for Kenshin as she soon starts to fall in love with him yet she violently denies it. She recognizes that Kenshin, despite of his violent past and being the Battosai, is a gentle soul who only wants peace by atoning for the lives he stole during the revolution. Although, personality-wise, she is very different than Tomoe, Kenshin's first love because of their personalities (Kaoru is loud, insecure and she can't cook anything tasty). At the end of the series, she and Kenshin will marry as they have a son named Kenji. Appearances in other media In Samurai X: Reflection, Kenshin and Kaoru are married, but he decides to wander again, returning to her every couple of years because he still feels the need to help others. Kaoru allows him to go, promising to welcome him home with a smile and their child. Kenshin eventually becomes ravaged by an unknown disease; to share his pain, Kaoru convinces Kenshin to share his disease with her through sexual intercourse. Kenshin then leaves to assist in the First Sino-Japanese War as he had promised the Meiji Government, not fighting and killing, but instead helping people. When he returns to Japan after a prolonged absence and they finally meet again, Kenshin collapses into her arms as he clutches her to him. Kaoru notices Kenshin's scar has faded away, signifying his death. In the original, "pilot" issue of Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, first published in 1992, Kaoru is the sister of Megumi and Yahiko. As the unrefined brainchild of artist Nobuhiro Watsuki, many of the story's details changed during the transition to serialized, mainstream manga. Kaoru also appears in all Rurouni Kenshin video games but in most as a supporting character including also Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars. Development and Reception Kaoru has been highly popular with the Rurouni Kenshin reader base, placing between fourth and fifth in every popularity poll. Watsuki describes Tomo Sakurai's CD drama voice as "not too airhead-y," "not too high," and "not too low." Merchandise based on Kaoru has also been released, including plushes, keychains, and sweat bands. In an interview with Miki Fujitani, who is the seiyū for Kaoru, comments that in the OVAs series Kaoru is a brave woman totally different from her original version. Several publications for manga, anime, video games, and other media have good response on Kaoru's character. When T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews writer Carlos Ross gave nicknames to the characters of Rurouni Kenshin he called Kaoru "a spirited girl". Megan Lavey from Mania Entertainment says that the manga version of Kaoru is "a lot wiser" than the anime version. In About.com "Top 8 Anime Love Stories", Kaoru and Kenshin's relationship ranked 8th with Katherine Luther noting it a "classic romance." Kaoru's character in the Reflection OVA series received many negative responses. Efrain Diaz, Jr. from IGN comments that some of Kenshin and Kaoru's private moments in Reflection are touching, and some are depressing. Anime News Network's Mike Crandol comments that Kaoru is the least successful visual character redesign in the Reflection OVA in contrast to the manga version's "distinctive girlish charm", and that "the creators tried too hard to make her look like Tomoe." Category:Characters Category:Kenshin-Gumi Category:Swordsman Category:Female Category:Himura Family